Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Sells 35,817 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA decreased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,386,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,817 shares during the period. Church & Dwight accounts for about 1.4% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned 0.56% of Church & Dwight worth $138,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 26,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 10,762 shares in the last quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,142,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 290.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,316,000 after acquiring an additional 41,804 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1,474.7% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 233,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,379,000 after acquiring an additional 218,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,213,000 after acquiring an additional 19,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total value of $1,037,763.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,551.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total value of $1,037,763.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,551.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $28,553,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,703,613.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE:CHD traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $105.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,240,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,188. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.68. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $106.62. The stock has a market cap of $25.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.53.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.2838 dividend. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CHD. Bank of America increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Church & Dwight in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.40.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.